Though one might speak of "old payment methods", it is these payment procedures which are still most common in online trading and are popular mainly due to the familiarity and the alleged safety.

However, the above mentioned payment modes distinguish themselves through the so called media discontinuity. This means that a discontinuity arises between the digital and manual processing which, in many cases, can not me automated. Specially in the field of mass production, these payment methods are, therefore, not suitable.

Prepayment

When paying in advance the entire risk of the delivery rests with the customer. It is therefore all the more important that the appearance of the vendor is trustworthy. When using this payment mode, it is recommended for the client to pay attention to the legal form. In general, payments in advance are tremendously laborious and therefore no longer adequate for today's technological age.

LSV – Direct Debiting

If the payment occurs via direct debiting the customer hands out his bank information to the vendor and agrees to the charge. In case of problems with the delivery, the debiting can be undone within six weeks. However, the customer is not protected from abusive charges of third parties if his account data is not sufficiently secured. This method of direct debiting is hardly used in Switzerland and is not advertised by the banks.

Cash on Delivery

A further possibility is the payment of the courier who hands over the contract goods, i.e. cash on delivery. In this case, it is guaranteed that the product is only delivered once the payment has been received. However, a provision has to be added for the delivery service and the return of the good is not free of charge.

Conclusion

The problems which arise with offline-payments have their main causes in:

• the media discontinuity (online order and offline payment)
• the asynchronous processing of the various stages of the payment procedure

It can therefore be concluded that, except in the case of the e-invoice, the above mentioned payment methods are all outdated and not suited for online trading due to the immense effort and risk.